Last night, I met with Ms. Flanagan Kennedy at the Blue Note Lounge in Lynn, where a fundraiser had been organized for her campaign. Although her campaign manager, Dennis Liberge, told me she was interested in the opportunity, I wanted to speak with her personally before announcing the news.

David Rohnstock also accepted the invitation to debate. Mayor Edward “Chip” Clancy has not yet responded. Both had been contacted prior to Ms. Flanagan Kennedy’s entrance into the race, but neither could make a firm commitment at that time.

I’d like this to be a town hall style debate, but the format is not yet set in stone. In a town hall debate, the audience asks the questions. Each candidate then has an opportunity to answer. In the event that this is a town hall debate, what question would you ask the candidate? Use the comment form below to submit your question. One question per person, so make it count!

There is an art to asking the right questions. Some interviewers, such as Terry Gross of Fresh Air, are held in higher esteem than others. Ask a question with a yes or no answer and you will get a yes/no answer. Ask open-ended questions and you will get more detailed answers. Ask the right open-ended question, and chances are increased you’ll get a revealing answer.

I haven’t heard a Terry Gross interview since her show switched times. I made my students listen to her interview with RZA from Wu-Tang to both hear a good interviewer and see the difference between RZA’s behavior and manner of speech on NPR vs. MTV.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this. I regret not being able to make the last candidate forum.

Great! I hope to see you there. We are going to videotape this time. I’m pretty sure we have made arrangements, but feel free to come with your own equipment. We’ll be sending a press release to LynnCam as well.